Written by Holly Reeves, MMF Volunteer

PFAS are a hot topic right now, and you might be wondering why. Let’s explore the in-and-outs of PFAS and what they mean for not only our health, but the health of our environment.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, have been around since the 1930’s and today comprise a class of 1,400 + chemicals. The compounds have excellent water-repellent, oil-repellent, and temperature-resistant qualities which makes them extremely useful and has resulted in the extensive use in a range of products, including bandages, waterproof clothing, firefighting foams, pesticides, cosmetics, sunscreen, food packaging and non-stick cookware.

As useful as PFASs are, they are also known as ‘forever chemicals’, since they do not naturally break down in the environment or body and are difficult to destroy. This presents a huge environmental crisis given PFAS have been linked to immune suppression and toxicity, developmental issues, liver toxicity, altered thyroid function and cancer in a range of organisms.

As PFAS make their way into our ocean ecosystems, they accumulate in marine wildlife, posing a significant threat to our most vulnerable species. But how do these chemicals enter the environment, and what are the risks?

How do PFAS get into the ocean?

PFAS are known to leach into the ocean from contaminated sites such as failed septic systems, wastewater leaks, runoff and even airport runways. Being extremely mobile in water, enabling them to travel long distances, and transferred through the food chain, PFAS have managed to completely contaminate our planet within a matter of decades.

How are PFAS relevant to MMF?

According to a recent University of New South Wales (UNSW) study, a significant proportion of our planet’s surface and groundwater exceeds the “safe” limits recommended by authorities. To make things worse, we know that PFAS levels in water are just one indicator of how our marine wildlife are affected. Since these chemicals magnify along the food chain, they bioaccumulate in top-order predators such as dolphins and other marine mammals.

In 2023, one of our very own researchers here at MMF, Chantel, determined that dolphins residing in Australian waters have the highest liver concentrations of PFAS in the world! Specifically, the highest PFAS levels were recorded in our primary research species, the critically endangered Burrunan dolphin. With PFAS already having been shown to compromise immune and liver function in marine mammals, these results are cause for great concern among conservationists.

*MMF Research Associate and PhD Candidate, Chantel Foord,* *published* *on the presence of PFAS in Burrunan dolphins earlier this year.*

Of further concern, Australia does not manufacture these chemicals and they are all imported; however, the UNSW study revealed that Australia is a hotspot for these chemicals. So how did a country with no PFAS manufacturing facilities become a global hotspot for contamination?

The origins of PFAS

American company 3M has recently taken the spotlight as one of the primary manufacturers of PFAS. Having committed $16 billion to clean PFAS-contaminated waterways and in light of the new STAN documentary ‘How to Poison a Planet’, evidence about 3M’s role in the PFAS contamination crisis continues to emerge into the public eye. As far back as 1978, experts reportedly warned 3M that PFAS cause similar symptoms to carcinogens in animal models, only for the information to be removed from the meeting minutes. In the 1990s, Teflon manufacturer DuPont illegally disposed of thousands of tons of sludge containing PFOAs, poisoning cattle on a farm downstream.

*Freshwater runoff meeting ocean water input, observed in the Gippsland Lakes 2023*

These incidents were long kept quiet, and it’s hard not to recognise a parallel with forever chemicals contamination stories in Australia.

Being a country that is highly susceptible to bushfires, and with global climate change we are seeing more extreme weather events with more intense and regular bushfires, of course these fires need to be managed and controlled. Historically, firefighting foams containing a chemical in the PFAS class known as PFOS were heavily used in Australia. But even with the best of intentions, the flow on effects of the use of these chemicals can be disastrous. As PFAS leach into the environment after firefighting, they contaminate the soil and water and can only be removed through human intervention. As a result of this unfortunate complication, the Department of Defence has paid over $366 million in class action lawsuits to remediate contamination around bases and training grounds.

A central issue in the fight against PFAS is the history of suppression of knowledge around forever chemicals with the wider community. In 2015, residents surrounding the Williamtown Royal Australian Air Force base in New South Wales were horrified to learn that PFAS were leaching from the base into their water and properties. NSW Health initially refused blood tests for residents, arguing there was no causal link between forever chemicals and adverse health effects. Later testing revealed that the blood of some residents contained 30-60 times more PFAS contaminants than the Australian average. Shockingly, an investigation by Fairfax Media unveiled that at least 39 residents who lived on a five-kilometre stretch of Cabbage Tree Road in Williamstown were diagnosed with cancer within the previous 15 years.

The Department of Defence began to discontinue their use of PFOS-based firefighting foams in 2004, yet products containing PFAS are still imported into Australia today. This begs the question, is the heavy contamination in Australia a consequence of the days when we didn't know the dangers of PFAs, or are they still being released into the environment today?

The bigger picture

At MMF, we are committed to protecting Australia’s marine mammals through research and conservation – but the issue of PFAS contamination goes far beyond marine mammal conservation. Dolphins act as bioindicators for contamination, meaning the PFAS levels in their blood or tissue tell us about the overall health of our waterways, and help us monitor the extent of the PFAS crisis.

PFAS are believed to be present in the blood of approximately 98% of people worldwide. Their contamination stretches across almost every inch of the globe, from the blood of polar bears in the Arctic to seabird eggs in Antarctica and everything in between. PFAS are even detected in the human umbilical cord. Forever chemicals have been making their way around the globe for decades now, but the biggest threat lies in their ability to accumulate. Even more concerningly, researchers believe we are likely underestimating the extent of PFAS contamination, since very few of the 14,000+ chemicals are actually monitored.

In Australia, three PFAS chemicals are typically monitored in drinking water: PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA. Unfortunately our guidelines are much more relaxed than other countries such as the US or Canada. Using PFOA as an example, the proposed limit in Australian waters is a staggering 560 nanograms per litre, in contrast to four ng/L in the US. According to that UNSW study, PFAS content frequently exceeds safe limits across the globe in source water such as dams. If these chemicals are not removed in treatment plants, they remain present in our drinking water. It’s also important to note that while these “limits” are set out in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, no current mandatory regulation is in place around PFAS levels in Australian waters.

Some water providers here in Australia use treatment plants designed to reduce PFAS in drinking water, but the dangers of these chemicals are still widely debated. For example, Sydney Water has reportedly commented there is “no current evidence that PFAS is an issue” and doesn’t routinely measure PFAS concentrations.

The journey ahead

The US Environmental Protection Agency has recently decided to introduce federal limits on PFAS concentrations in drinking water and designate two commonly-used PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances – but what about Australia? With exceptionally high PFAS levels allowed in our drinking water under current recommendations, numerous contamination sites and continuous import of PFAS-based products, surely it is time to take action in the land down under as well.

Until we recognise PFAS as a threat we are prepared to address, these chemicals will continue to bioaccumulate in our environment and in our blood, compromising the health of not only the global population but also our waterways and marine wildlife.

The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has committed to halt the importation and use of three prominent PFAS chemical groups by July 2025 – PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS. While a positive step towards change, this decision will come after 171 other countries have already banned PFOS and has been criticised as “too little, too late”. With thousands of PFAS chemicals remaining on the market and new variants continuing to be introduced, what is to stop industries from simply pivoting to other chemicals not outlawed by the ban?

Whilst our study has been the first to highlight the levels of PFAS in our local dolphins, we still have limited research on the actual sources and levels of PFAS entering the marine environment, in particular for the two resident Burrunan dolphin populations in Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes. We do not know if the contamination is increasing, or how these levels impact on the health of the dolphins. To better understand this, it is crucial the research continues and is prioritised by our government to better understand the threatening processes, such that we can mitigate, ban, and/or biomediate PFAS within our environment.